Data capture systems are used to extract data from paper documents or from images created from such documents. A typical data capture system consists of an imaging device that acquires the image of the document and software that runs on a computer that processes the acquired image. To process structures (e.g. data field areas) in the image, such software should be provided with information about such fields. The information may include the position of the fields in relation to page boundaries or other objects, properties of the data, validation rules, etc. For the sake of simplicity, the information is hereinafter referred to as a “document template.” Document templates are provided for a specific document type, or for a set of document types which the data capture system is expected to handle.
After the document template is created, it is used by the data capture software to process documents.
Documents may contain repetitive structures (e.g. repetitive fields or groups of fields). For instance, a series of similar structures may exist for each child of a family, or for each house on the same street, etc.